Illegal Immigration is Not About Money Lost or Laws Broken
Posted: Tuesday, March 04, 2008
by Jeff Brown
Inner Projection
I've had a lot of responses and questions to my immigration articles.
Some are personal: "I'm an illegal immigrant and proud of it," I'm for illegal immigration," "true life I'm an immigrant," what I have learned about life as an immigrant," "immigrants come to America because of no jobs," I'm an immigrant I'm looking for a job," "I'm here 10 years illegal immigrant," I have an illegal friend in America," I"m a student I found out recently I'm illegal," "help I'm an illegal immigrant."
Some are in bad circumstances questioning: "I'm Illegal can I work?" "what is it like to be an immigrant in America?" "I'm an illegal immigrant how can I stay in the US?" "I'm an illegal immigrant that wants a job," "what's it like being an illegal immigrant in America," "why is life so tough for an immigrant like me?" "will I lose my green card if I live with an illegal?" "what I need to be an immigrant in America?" "I'm looking for a job but I'm illegal," "I'm here illegally can I go back to my country?" "I am not legal in America what should I do?" "I can't find a job because I'm illegal"
Lots of these questions and comments I could not respond to, but since the response was so overwhelming, I thought the issue needed greater study.
I preface this article because of the nature of the responses I've received on other articles on immigration. It is a hot topic, as many know. What I would like to do here is to create a perspective of greater depth and breadth with a historical look at the issue of illegal immigration, race relations, the founding of this country, as well as my extensive personal experience with the INS and the cumbersome and lengthy process involved in obtaining a visa. I will begin with a world perceptive, or where most Americans stand in regards to the rest of the world.
Please consider the following. If you rent an apartment and car in the U.S. you are doing better than 90% of the rest of the world. If you earn more than $3 a day you are doing better than half the people in the world. You get the idea.
Now consider this. If you are starving or your life is on the line, you don't care about immigration laws, you WILL suffer the risk of life and limb to find food, work, and political freedom. I'm not taking ideology here; I'm talking cold, hard facts. These are the cold hard facts that need to be known outside of any idealistic fantasy. I have spoken to hundreds of immigrants, legal and illegal, and here are a few of their stories. Once again, I'd like to deal in fact, actual examples, not abstract theory.
I have had many Latin American students of mine tell stories of grandfathers (pick your relative) taken out in the middle of the night and shot, killed without reason, just because authorities of paramilitary regimes suspected him of being an agitator. I have had many Middle Eastern students tell stories of going to school and seeing female friends lying dead on the side of the road with their fingers torn out because they decided to wear nail polish that day. Or stories of mothers turning in their daughters who were seen with boys who weren't family or fiance for mercy killings (a good movie for the uninformed to see is Osama--story of a young girl forced to dress as a boy to get work). I have heard many stories from Asian students of running away from authorities at night without a father ( killed as an insurgent without proof), running in the deep dark night from village to village, only in the night to escape authorities, arriving in America, home of the free and the brave.
So we can see the great need for people to come here. And if one comes illegal it is often better to do so for the individual than to suffer starvation or death. Of course, we know that most illegals come here from South America, Mexico mostly. But most come because of lack of opportunity, jobs, and food, and because of this, to a great degree, their lives are on the line. Because of the preponderance of those coming here from Mexico, many Americans often speak of the U.S. being "Mexicanized." Nevertheless, even though the illegal issue focuses mainly on Mexico, I'd like to create a greater perspective as to why immigration is such a hot topic. Knowing a few things about the establishment of this country and its relations with other countries and races is important to a perspective of greater depth and breadth regarding illegal immigration. To begin, we must go back over 150 years ago to gain greater understanding of the causes of the Mexican / American War , which will help us see immigration from a perspective that is not so limited. As one gains a greater perspective, it will be clear that the issue of illegal immigration is not as cut and dry as some make it out to be.
What must be explored first, are the inherent contradictions in those who are aghast at the audacity of others coming to this country illegally, that "illegals" simply must obey the laws or be deported. I understand that those who come here without a visa are considered "invaders" and subject to national security and martial laws. But laws are not cast in stone, an issue I will cover shortly. Let's get to the history.
Consider that during the colonization of Texas by Mexico the difference in attitude toward colonization "laws" by Americans (the NEW Americans) and Native Americans (Native Americans complied; most New Americans ignored the laws). And before this issue of illegal immigration came about, who gave the New Americans authority to take the land from the Native Americans and most of the Southwest from Mexico ? The Mexicans who got it from Spain, who usurped it from the Native Americans, who got it from . . . and so on.
Also, the problem arises that opinion on illegal immigration is frequently tinged with bias and has little bearing in fact or desire to resolve the issue fairly for all parties concerned. In another article I wrote on immigration, some responded as follows: "Other people from other nations come and learn our language/our ways; why can't the Hispanic people?? I know why: they're muy floja! (Lazy!!)"; another stated "Sorry, but poverty, corruption, and lack of opportunity, are not a 'get out of jail free' card or a 'pass immigration' ticket and does not give ANYONE the right to break into my country for ANY reason" (interesting that it was poverty and corruption that forced the early Americans to leave their countries and take this country from others already here); another stated "I also think that when they're talking Spanish in front of non-Spanish speaking people (like yours truly), it's rude." These are obviously emotion based responses, but it goes deeper than that. But let's examine emotion first before getting back to the deeper issue.
People by and large respond emotionally: 30 to 1 ratio, actually (emotion to logic). Why are people more scared of dying in a plane when dying in a car is hundreds more times likely. Why are people more afraid of dying from some rare disease than a heart attack. Hundreds of times more likely. It's a control issue. Emotionally, they feel in greater control in a car and over what they eat, regardless of what they put in their mouth. People respond emotionally to the issue of illegal-immigration because then as now there is still great prejudice and bias in America . And even though today's comments may not be as race-laden as 50 years ago or more, subtlety does not excuse bias.
Consider this, if we look at Jamestown as a point of demarcation, slavery has existed in North America 250 out of 400 years (roughly 1607 to 2008). It has been here longer than it hasn't. Blacks eventually obtained their physical freedom in 1863 after the Emancipation Proclamation, but it wasn't until 1964, 1965 that they received their political rights with The Civil Rights Act and The Voting Rights Act . Certainly, blacks have gained greater rights and visibility. We have the first high-profile black woman in office: Condoleezza Rice. And the first black coach to reach the Super Bowl in 2006: Tony Dungy. However, today the picture is not all rosy. S undown towns , towns that don't allow blacks to stay after sunset, exist to this day, or at least the laws are still on the books in many of these towns. And it wasn't until the 1970s that most sundown towns stopped enforcing these laws. Nevertheless, something that lasts that long doesn't just go away. We can look to the slow response by government to the mostly black population of New Orleans after Katrina hit as an indicator of the slow receding nature of racism (here we must seriously consider the augment for the connection between poverty and racism ).
Let's take a look at a short history of racism in America to gain even greater perspective. Take a look at how America treated the Irish ("certainly the "ape-like" Celt became something of an malevolent clich of Victorian racism" [ Racism and Anti-Irish Prejudice in Victorian England ]), the Chinese ( The Chinese Exclusion Act disallowed immigration simply based on race), Native Americans ( The Trail of Tears and Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal : "They have neither the intelligence, the industry, the moral habits, nor the desire of improvement which are essential to any favorable change in their condition" [5th Annual Message to Congress]). Consider that the early settlers of America saw similarities between the Irish and Indian. And of course, American prejudice against Mexicans has been well established.
Point of note is that people have short memories. After the attacks of 9/11 many Americans were shocked that other countries or people would hate us so. In response to these statements, Gore Vidal stated that "Many Americans live in the United States of Amnesia."
Has racism gone away? No. Has it gotten better? Certainly to some degree, but there is no doubt that it still exists. The only question is to what degree? And do we see less prejudice simply because it's not as socially acceptable as it was 30 years ago or more? To support that it does exist, I have a lawyer friend who was inspired to go into law so that he could go back to Mississippi to "Nail all the rednecks." But consider this, on an individual basis, the longer you have a habit, like smoking, the harder it is to get rid of it. As a nation of people, because of the influence of others or the status quo, it's even more difficult to make changes. Regardless, to a great degree, illegal immigration is a hot topic because of the bias and hate that still exists for "the other," which shows itself in anger, nationalism , jingoism (chauvinistic patriotism, sans the belligerent foreign policy aspect), and xenophobia . This is a root cause for the heated debate behind illegal immigration.
It certainly can't be about the loss of money. If we look at the facts, illegal-immigrants actually keep prices down and many pay payroll and sales taxes. If one is concerned about fiscal deficiencies, one would be better off looking at multinationals shipping jobs overseas, the marked increase in recent years of the differential between what CEOs make and their employees, the impoverishment of Americans (many middle-class falling into the lower class) because of support of dual households arising from a sharp increase in divorce, loss of pensions, increase in cost of living . . . on and on. People with little power and numbers (12 million illegals / 300 million legals) have little influence. But the potential and often ignored targets mentioned above don't have unfriendly or unfamiliar faces, and we often attack what scares us most. Marilyn Manson was asked why he was the poster boy for attacks after the Columbine shootings. He said that he just happened to be the scariest target going. Just like my mother doesn't like spiders and snakes but she loves bunnies and kittens.
I only hope that we can see the suffering of all of mankind as our problem. It is the responsibility of the wealthy to give back. We see star athletes do it. We should see star countries do it as well. This country was founded on an open-door policy. If we are afraid of immigrants, illegal even, then we are afraid of ourselves. We owe them our hearts in compassion and our minds in resolving best what to do with those who are illegal and already here and those to come. Our laws can be modified and are not cast in stone, and should be modified if they do not consider the many. According to Martin Luther King, "There are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all" ( Letter from Birmingham Jail ).
How just are our laws? Are laws sacrosanct? No. They are arbitrary and dictated based on a sliding scale from the liberal left to the conservative right. "We should never forget that everything Adolph Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany . Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers" (MLK).
Finally, immigrants waiting for visas is not likely. First, refresh yourself with the main reasons why immigrants come here. Consider the hundreds of dead and rotting bodies found in the desert near the southern border of the U.S. and you'll understand their desperation.
Here's the main problem: the INS, bureaucracy, paperwork, worker malaise. I've been intimately involved in the process. I've sat and waited three hours to find the case status of my wife's children. When we finally got to the window we were told to fill out a form. We did. By the time the INS sent us the status of the case by U.S. mail her kids had been with us six months. These "priority cases" took four years. And I could go on and on with example after example advocating the foolishness of expecting all immigrants to come here legally when most would be dead and gone a long time before they obtained their visas.
If someone is starving they will not wait for a visa. The preservation of life always will and does take precedence over established laws. Our founding brothers and sisters put their lives on the line to oppose established laws. And keep in mind that laws are not sacrosanct. As we learn in law school, laws are arbitrarily established somewhere along the liberal / conservative sliding ruler.
As an example, I was in court the other day with my wife, who is an apartment manager. The tenant, the defendant, hadn't paid rent in five months. This was partially due to an alleged misunderstanding regarding a case a month before in which the tenant was being charged with non-compliance with tenancy rules, grounds for absolvance of tenancy. In this case, the first case, she was in breach of contract for having her husband live in the apartment without being on the lease. She told the judge that he wasn't living there. All the evidence and testimonies clearly pointed to his living there but the judge, a pro-tenant judge, dismissed the case because of a lack of substantial evidence. A month later she was back in court for not paying rent for five months, an obvious breach of contract and reason for dismissal of tenancy. Nevertheless, another judge, also pro-tenant, believed that the defendant's "confusion" over whether or not she should have paid the rent because she had won the previous case and thought that she didn't have to pay rent for the three months in question had no bearing on the case, even though all she had to do was call my wife to clear up the issue. Even with an obvious breach of contract and non-payment for five months this judge "arbitrarily" decided that the defendant was not guilty enough to be dismissed from tenancy. Because of the setting of this precedent, these tenants now walk around believing that they can do as they please, thus creating potential rule enforcement problems if the other tenants get wind of the court's decisions in these cases.
AAs I mentioned above, Martin Luther King told us that just laws square with the moral or eternal nature or that of God. Is this not God's country? Does not God see all people the same and desire the best for all, regardless of arbitrary boundaries set by the limited minds and hearts of men? And even though laws may be created and enforced arbitrarily, it is still essential for those whose lives are on the line to come to this country of great freedoms and opportunities.
But as stated, there are problems. First, the system needs to be changed. The INS needs to be revamped. And let's not just put a Band-Aid on the problem. Let's fix it permanently, meaning, strengthen Mexico's economy rather than try to clean up the bureaucratic mess at the INS (ah, the poetic justice of mess rhyming with INS). Much easier said than done, but there is no alternative. I feel that Obama's ideas are the best fix to this problem.
In the end, are we not all God's children? We must seek greater understanding and proceed with open minds not shut off by prejudice, selfishness, or arbitrary boundaries and laws.
We should consider working on our hearts first and our heads later. Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism , that religion which found this country, said that man's rational mind is the great whore of the earth. If one leans to heavily here the fall will be considerable.
I live in an apartment complex with people who are of South American (many who only speak Spanish), Middle Eastern, African, Asian and European descent. There's a lot of times I don't know what people are saying because of all the languages spoken, but these people by the grace of God have a greater opportunity to live and thrive and prosper because of the protection and potential this great country provides. My grandmother on my mother's side came here from Portugal, never learned English and prospered, as many have who have come here based on man's terms of legal or illegal. And finally, the argument of criminals and undesirables existing amongst illegals is limited, for there are a greater number of citizens who are of the same ilk. Wouldn't it be prudent to amend the larger problem first?
I am of the mind that a middle road can be reached to satisfy the needs of all brothers and sisters who come to God's country. I am of a mind that we have not forgotten that this country is a country of immigrants, even immigrants taking land from immigrants. Peace is at our command. We should use it in our thoughts, words, actions, deeds, and laws. May our country forever be free. The home of the brave and the land of the free. I end with the wisdom of our most revered and honored lady. May we all make decisions based on how we desire to be treated not to treat those poorly whom we may see as less desirable.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
It is difficult to love. A challenge to live and let live. It's too easy to hate, too give in to fear. Let us live an honorable and empowering life. Education is important but without wisdom, knowing the difference between right and wrong and finding compassion in our hearts, knowledge is mere Jeopardy fodder. There have been many an educated man who has killed, and killed for all the wrong reasons. Today it is essential that we all begin in earnest to pry our hearts open to find the honor inside, to look to see not only our hearts but the hearts of all our brothers and sisters. Turn yourself inside out to see the sameness that resides in us all. Amen and Godspeed.
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